A SERMON, Preached September 20th, 1793 ; A DAY SET APART, IN THE CITY of NEW-YORK, FOR PUBLIC FASTING, HUMILIATION AND PRATER, OH ACCOUNT OP A MALIGNANT and MORTAL FEVER PREVAILING IN THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA. By JOHN MITCHEL MASON, Minister of the Scotch Presbyterian Church in the City of New-York. How is it that ye do not difcern this time ? Luke xm, 56. 1 have lent among you the peftilence ; your } < um>- men have 1 (lain by the i'word ; and have taken away your hories ; yet have ye not returned unto me, l"..ith the Lord. Amos iv, 10. NEW-YORK: Printed by SAMUEL LOUDON c? SON. m: ~xciii. A SERMON, Stc O LORD--IN WRATH REMEMBER MERCY. HAB. %. Ill, j\T the time when our Prophet directed to the throne of grace, that fublime and affecting petition of which our text is a part, the circum- fiances of his country were calamitous, and her profpects alarming. The molt high God, pro- voked at her unfaithfulnefs, had withdrawn the fmiles of his countenance, and the protection of his arm*. To make her know, by fad experi- ence, that it is indeed an evil thing and bitter to depart from God, he commiflioned his fervant Habakkuk to fbretcl the fpeedy invafion of the Chaldeans, and to declare that he would yield a. * Chap. !• 2. * (4) rer a hclplefs prey to this fierce and unpitying foe*. The pofterity of Abraham, like all other finners, were the authors of all the woes which they felt or expected^ RegardlefS of. this firffc principle of found policy, that " rigbtecufnejs e::Xteth a nc.Xzn, but fin is a reprfach ty any peo- fle+, the generality of thejews h^ftPabaiitfened the God of their fathers, and turned afide like a deceitful bcx%. Not only were they blind to the typical nature of their ceconomy, and the fpiuN ual fenfe of their peculiar obfervances ; but they threw off the restraint of moral principle, and indulged, with unblufhing impudence, their criminal paflions. To fuch an awful height had impiety and profligacy rifen, that they were chargeable with tranfgrejfng and lying again/1 the I.crd, and departing from their God; fpeaking op- frejf.cn and revolts conceiving, and uttering from the hearty ti'crds of falfehood. Tea judgment voas turned away haXuvard, and jufl ice flood* afar eff; for truth ivas fallen in the flreet, and equity could not enter ; yea truth failed, and he that departed frm evil, made himfelf a prey\\. In vain did God warn by his providence j in vain remonftrate by * Chap, i, 5—10. f Prov. xiv. 34. § Pf. lxxviii. 57, (5) his prophets: thefe fons of rebellion and obfti- nacy perfifted in their crimes, till if the fin of Judah,*' no longer tolerable, was " written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond*. Abufed patience aggravated, and haflened, the doom of this guilty people. Since they harden- ed their hearts againft mild expoftulation, and gentle correction, the Lord God thundered his threatnings, and in terrible indignation faid, " Shall I not viftt for thefe things ? And jhall not my foul be avenged on fuch a nation as this] ? Pious Habakkuk, who clearly faw the impending ruin, wept, in fecret, over the infatuation of his coun- trymen ; acknowledged the juftice of Jehovah's controverfy; and wreftled, in fervent prayer, for devoted Ifrael. " O LORD, I have heard thy fpeech," the fentence which thou haft denoun- ced againft my people, "and was-afraid: 0 LORD," we indeed deferve all the evils to which it condemns us: yet cafl us not, I pray thee, out of thy fight, but " revive thy work in the midfl of the years," thefe years of trouble which are coming upon us; "in the midfl even cf thefe years, make known" thyfelf, and thy tender com- * Jer. xvn. i. f Ch. v. 9. («> pafllons: " in wrath f merited wrath, " remem- ber;" and tellify, unmerited " mercy** The words wrath, mercy, remember, which occur in the text, muft be underftood, and ex- plained in a fenfe which will not militate againft the purity, and fimplicity of the divine nature. It would be both ignorant and impious to af- cribe to Jehovah thofe emotions which agitate the bofom of a mortal. In the uncreated mind, there is, properly fpeaking, neither pafiion, nor affection, but all is pure ail. The wrath of God, then, as it refpects himfelf, is his holy de- termination to funifh fin ; and, as it refpects his creatures, is the execution of that determination. Mercy, in Him, is that perfection which is ever ready to relieve the miferable j and when it re- gards mifery connected with guilt, it is termed grace. As every thing is invariably prefent to the in- finite mind, God cannot be ftrictly faid to for- get : and therefore to remember mercy, is the fame as to fhezv mercy : And the prayer of the prophet is briefly this, that the Lord would gra- cioufly remove from the Ifraelites the punifh- (7 ) ment or their hn, or would fofcen, with kindnefs, the rigor of his chaftifements. Let us not imagine, my brethren, that we have no concern in a petition which refers imme- diately to an occafion that exifted many centuries paft. To all who " difcern the ftgns of the times*," the judgments of God, which are abroad in the land, furnifti an ample proof, that this is a day of rebuke, and of the Lord's anger. And, therefore, every one who is under the power of godlinefs, will immediately fee, that the enqui- ries, and the cxercifes fuggefted by the prayer of the prophet, are peculiarly adapted to the ferious purpofe for which we have this morning aflembled. « 0 LORD, in wrath remember mercy." In applying thefe words to the fervice of the day, we are naturally led to contemplate our fttuation, and our duty. By adverting to the former, we will find, that wrath is upon us from the Lord , and therefore owr duty is to plead with him for mercy.— * Matt. xrr. j. (8 ) FIRST, With refpect to our fttuation 1 The Lord is dealing with us in wrath. Here lend me your attention, whilft I briefly prove the fact j and vindicate the divine pro- cedure, by ihewing the righteous rcafons on which it is founded.—- i. The Lord is dealing with us in wrath. Let the carelefs, if they pleafe, contemn the alfertion as of no importance j or the profane deride it as the child of fuperftition ; it is a fo- lemn truth, that Jehovah has a controverfy with America. Very fuitable to her condition is the fpirit of the prophetic exclamation, " Hear ye, O mountains', and ye flrong foundations of the earth! for the Lord hath a controverfy with his people, and he will plead with Ifrael*." For the confirmation of what has now been advanced, it is not neceflary to recur to fcenes which time has almoft buried in oblivion, and which are no where preferved but in the records of the hifto- rian. Thofc fymptoms of the divine difplea- * Micah> vi. 2. / (<,) fuic on which I infift, are fuch as h?.ve recently occuticd, and muft be frefh in the memories'of all who have arrived at the age of manhood. It is not longfince war defolated our country., We faw her invaded by a numerous and difcipli- ned army, trained to be the tool of oppreflion, and hired to commit deeds of blood, in oider to infure fuccefs to fchemes of iniquity-----We faw our fullering citizens driven from their homes by thefe fons of plunder, and obliged to feek, among ftrangers, an afylum from the win- try blaft, and relief from the miferies of poverty and exile-----We faw the temples of the living God wrefted from the peaceful worfnippcr; ra- vaged and wrapt in fianv;, by wretches whofe fcnfeleffncfs could be equalled only by their im- piety-----We faw a part, at leaf!, of the States overrun by banditti, whofe conduct was marked with perfidy and violence-----We faw the fword of (laughter* drawn, and the fields of America drenched with the blood of her children. For more than feven years did woe ftream her bitter- r.els into our daily cup. At length the Lord was pleafed to remove from us the rod of his B ( io ) nngcr; to refpitc us from affliction, and to give peace in our borders. The happy effects of a change fo deflrablc, were immediately and fenfi- h!y felt. As foon as the prefilire of external ca- lamity was taken off,.languifhing Commerce re- covered her vigor.—Agriculture was profecuted with fafety and fucrefs; Science refumed her wonted feats ; and all the arts of peace were cultivated and flouriflicd. He who fhould com- pare our unpromifing condition with our mira- culous prefervation, would be ready to conclude, that Americans, above all others, would mod affectionately remember a favor fo great and unexpected. Yet, to our fhame be it fpoken, when our enemies were gone, we neglected the God of our deliverance. But he foon made it evident, by another alarming providence, that he had not forgotten our paft tianf^reffions, and that he did not overlook our prefent unthankful- nefs. The enviable bleflings which his bounty beftowed, we had reafon to fear would again be torn from us. The ftorm once more thickened, and lowered, and threatened. Four years, from the rcftoration of peace, had not elapfed, when the reflecting patriot forefaw the rapid approach ( u ) of danger more formidable than that which wr had efcaped. The bond of general union pro- ved too feeble fur the important purpofes for which it was formed. Clafhing interefts and turbulent fpirits foreboded ths introduction of Anarchy, witli a!I the curfes that follow in his train. But the Lord long fuffering did not pour out upon us the fury of his anger. He fhook the rod over us that we might obferve it; and laid it afidc without chaftifing. Loth to make us the monuments of his wrath, and willing to reclaim us from our guilty indifference, he tried the ar- guments of mercy. He difiipated-the blacken- ing clouds, and gave us a conftitution which fe- cures, to all ranks of citizens, every fpecics c£ right; which combines wifdom with energy; and connects the dignity of the government, with the fafety and happinefsof the individual. The profpect of evil had awakened the fen Ability of the public mind, and the prompt falvation obligr ed even politicians to acknowledge " the finger of God." But when the panic fublided, the de- votion fubfided with it: and America quickly relapfed into her former lethargy. ( 12) To chaflifethe hypocrifv, and cure the indif- ference, which all older* of men had betrayed, JthoVflh commiflioned his army, a^ainil which valor and (kill are rv> defence, to avenge his quar- rel. A holt of dell ructive infects, fporting with the puny efforts of human exertion, traverfed the country, and mowed down, in their man h, the ftafr" of life. " 'the land vvj as the garden of Eden before than, end behind them a deflate wildernej.s*." Had they continued their ricval ■ tations, we could have expected little but " clean- nefs of teeth in all cur dwellings^" Startled at the alarming progrefs of this minute, y< I invin- cible foe, our citizens, vvl-.o were not wholly vv.d to religious principle, weie cvr.il.viacd to rem.uk the judgment of the Molt Hi;. h, and to irrploic t.'ie aid of him whom they had oil ended, {kit ti>e pang of penitence was no longer felt wlnn the aitiction ceafed, and the return of profperity \v:o accompanied with a return of traiiKncfiloii. To remind us of our fin and of our duty, the 7 * Joel ii. ". n f Amos iv.6. Seethehiftory cf the He fan Fly in the American Mufcum, vol. i, page 291—293. p. 456—45ft. vol. 2, p. 2C,8—300. vol. 4, p. 244—247. vol. 11, p. 301, 302. ( >3 ) monitions of Providence were again employed. Injuft indignation, God fent upon our frontiers the Indian, tribes. War lighted, once more, his hoftile torch, and Pcath unfurled his banners. Our W< ftein brethren were expofed to the inde- fcribable honors of a f.wage warfare: a warfare, of which the unvarying maxim is, an indifcrimi- nate murder of every age and fex. Elated with the perfuafion, that their power was irrefiftaule by the hords of the wildernefs, the States refol- ved to crufh, at a blow, the troublefome combi- nation which was formed againft them. But they trufted in an arm of ficin : the God of bat- tles fought for their enemies, and what was the ifiuc ? Let the banks of St.-Mary, and the ad- jacent grounds which now whiten with the b.vcs of our youth, tell die tale of woe !* From that * The affecting cataftrophe here alluded to, happened or the 4th of November, 17<; 1. On that inauipicious day, the American arniv, which Gen. St. Clair led againft the Weftern Indians was entirely defeated. The battle was fought at the River St. Mary, about 15 nillea from the Miami Village. The army confifted of about 1400 effec- tive men. No Icis than 38 oiliceis, and above 1100 men were killed ; and it was with difficulty that the miferable remnant made good their retreat. See Gen. St. Clair's official letter, American Muffwm vol. :c, appencib:. Qua:tcr-Maitcr Ilodgdcn's ieta-T. of the euuceaa kilLd ( 14) diiaftrous period to this, the vengeful barbarian has more or lefs committed depredations on our borders ; pillaging the property, and deftroying the lives of our citizens. What fhall we fay to the prefent afpect of Providence ? You all know the deplorable condition of our neighboring city. A few weeks ago flic was a city of profperity and joy—-Commerce crowded her harbor, and thronged her ftreets—Mechanic induftry boaftcd her ufeful, though humbler toil—Literature faw, with delight, her growing honors. Amufement led up her fportive train : Jollity aflembled th,e fons of mirth : All was life—all was ardor. But, how fad the change! The hurry of bufmefs lias, ccafed : The hands of induftry are idle : Gaiety is fled. All faces gather blacknefs ; and the theatre of plcafure is converted into one great houfe of mourning. " 'The mirth cf tabrets ceaf- eth : the noife of them that rejoice endeth : the joy of the harp ceaf eth: 'They fhall not drink wine with a fong: flrong drink fhall fye bitter to them that drink it:—every houfe isfhut up, that no man may and wounded, p. 2 S. The " report of a committee of Con- grefs refpecting the failure of the expedition under Gen. St. Clair," ib. vol. 9, appen. 2d, p. 79—82 ; and alfo ap- pendix 3d, p. 2. ( '5 ) a>:m in. In the city is left defolation ; and the gate is fmitten with deflruclion*'." Death has erected, in the midft of her, his gloomy throne. With fury uncontroled, he rages through all de- fcriptions of men. In all directions fly the Ihafts of this unerring archer. Every day he multiplies his triumphs. The young, the old, the honor- able, and the vile, fall the undiftinguifhed prey of this remorfelefs tyrant. Vain, as yet, have been all human expedients to arreft his progrefs, and baffle his power. He mocks oppofition— he ftrews the earth with flain—He numbers among his victims even the " mafters of the healing art." Let none confider this dire calamity as an event in which only the immediate fufferers are concerned. To punifh their iniquities it has, doubtlefs, been fent. But are they Jingle in tranf- grefflon ? Have we efcaped becaufe we are bet- ter than they ? No, in no wife. A fovereign God has made them an example of his righteous vengeance. The evil under which they lan- guish, is one of thofe awful difpenfations by * If. xxiv. S—iz. ( :6 ) wl.iv!i Jehovah fpeaks, in t!'.u;vkr, to a guilty people. The nellroving Angel, who is now ex- ecuting upon our fellow citizens and iellow fin- ners the awards of 1 leaven, looks terribly on us, looks terribly on all.—Whether he will bend his courfe hither, God only knows. Now, my brethren, laya^l thefe things toge- ther, and aik your own confeiences, whether the Lord has not been, and is not, at this moment, dealing with us in wrath ? Affuredly, "Jor all this his anger is not turned azvay, but his hand is fl retched out fill*." Philosophers may fpeculate and argue as they pleafe. They may pretend to affign merely natural caufes for all thefe events. But let it be remembered, that GOD ACTUATES NA- TURE. Nature, without God, is a word either deflitute of meaning, or replete with blafphemy. Jehovah accomplifhes, by natural means, the wife and holy ends of his moral government. By natural means he preferves the righteous : by natural means he punifhes the guilty. " i>hall If. ix. 17. (I-) there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it* ?" But why accumulate arguments to prove that the affliction which we deplore is not a chance, but a divine appointment ? Your-very appearance in the fanctuary this morning, is a public teftimony of your deep conviction that "this alfo cometh forth from Jehovah, who is ter- rible in his doing toward the children of men]." Since, then, the diftrefles under which we have formerly fmarted, and that which now af- flicts fome of our citizens, and threatens more, is " the doing of the Lord\, permit me 1. To tf vindicate the ways of God to man," by fhewing what righteous reafons he has for dealing with us in wrath. We need not go far to look for caufcs : They are within us, and around us., We will find abundant reafon to juftify the divine procedure, if we advert to our ingratitude, our inftncerity, * Amos in. 6. }- If. xxvm. 29; Pf. txvi. 5. £ Pf. cxvm. 23. c ( 18 ) our pride, our obflinacy, and the prevalence of various kinds of moral evil. It is but too evident to any one who curforily infpects the conduct of God to us, and our con- duct to him, that we have been very ungrateful. There is no nation under heaven for which God hath done fo much in fo fhort a time, as he hath done for America. In the feafon of our danger, when our hofe was almoft as the giving up of the ghofl*, and wc felt ourfelves unable to work out our own deliverance, we fupplicated his aid. Memorable, to diftant ages fhould be the 20th of July, i775t: when the injured mil- lions of America, proftrate before the throne of the Eternal, poured out their complaint, and fent their cry, to him that judgeth rightly^. Je- hovah heard our cry. He bowed his heavens and *ame down%. Our armies, deftitutc of difcipline, of arms, of ammunition, of food, of cloath- ing, fainting with hunger, and freezing with cold, * Job xi. 20. f Obferved throughout the con- tinent as a day of falling, humiliation, and prayer; and one of the mod folemn days fhe eyer faw. t Jcr- *'• 20. § 1 Sam. xxm. iOr ( '9) he crowned with victory the moft fignal, and decifive. He reltored p«ace to our borders: He blelTed our commerce : He opened the win- dows of Heaven, and poured plenty into our dwellings : He kept us from the confufion, and tumult, and miferies, of civil feudsm He has preferved us, hitherto, from, being involved in the broils and bloodfhed of Europe. He has fweetened all thefe mercies by fixing us in the fecure enjoyment of every privilege our hearts can wifh : lie has given us the everlafting gof- pel, we truft, in its purity; and has been invi- ting, by the allurements of his love, to the en- joyment of his reft. But where has been our gratitude ? What have we rendered to the Lord for this profufion of benefits ? Let us appeal to the moft intcrcfting, important, and folemn bu» finefs in which, we have been engaged fince our national exiftence. One would imagine that no. occafion of making a pointed and public acknow- ledgment of the divine benignity, could have prefented itfelf fo obvioufly, as the framing an inftrument of government which, in the nature of things, muft be clofely allied to ourhappinefs or our ruin. And yet, that very conftitution •which the fingular goodnefs of God enabled, ns ( 20 ) to eftablifn, does not fo much as recognize hi* being4 ! Yes, my brethren, it is a lamentable truth : a truth, at the mention of which fliame fhould crimfon our faces; that, like Jefhurun of old, we have waxed fat and kicked. Of the rock that begat us we have beer, umnindful, we have forgotten his works, and the wonders that he hath Shewed us]. Oh my country ! Torn from thy hiftory be the difgraceful page which records thy unthankfulnefs! * While many, on various pretences, have criminated the Federal conihtution, one objection has urged itielf for- cibly on the pious mind. That no notice whatever lhould be taken of that God who planteth a nation and plucketh, it up at his pleafurc, is an omiffion which no pretext what- ever can palliate. Had fuch a momentous bufinefs been tranfacted by Mahometans, they would have begun " In the n*v:e of Cod. Even the Savages whom we defpife, fetting a better e: ample, would have paid fome homago to the Great Spirit. But, from the conilitution of the Ur.ited States, it is impoifible to afcertain what God we worfhip ; or whether we own a God at all. It is a very ir.lufficient apology to plead, that the devotion which poli- tical inftitutions offer to the Supreme Being, is, in moft caffs, a matter of mere form : For the hypocrify of one man, or fct of men, is furtly no excufc for the infidelity of another. Should the citizens of America be as irrelU gious as her conftitution, we will have reafon to tremble, left the Governor of the univerfe, who will not be treated with indignity by a people, any more than by individuals^ overturn, from its foundation, the fabric we have been rearing, and crufh us to atoms in the wreck. | Dcut. xxxn. 15,18 ; Pf. LX.XVJ11. ii. ( 21 ) There is a connection between crimes, as well as between graces. Never will we find, either in individuals or communities, a folitary fin. In the conduct of America, particularly, there has been a moft unworthy combination. Little is neceflary to prove, that if we have been ungrate- ful, we have alfo been infincere. Who docs not remember the profefledly pe- nitential tears which ftreamed from every eye, and the groans which burft from every heart, when the hand of the Lord lay heavy upon us. Our rulers and public men led the way to acts of fo- lemn devotion, and invited their fellow citizens to join together in humbling themfelves under the mighty hand of God? Who profcribed, as far as their authority could reach, thofe guilty amufe- ments and practices which provoke the Moft ] I igh to pour out his fury upon a people ? Who reprobated, and exhorted others to difcounte- pance, that feminary of vice, that corrupter of moral principle, that parent of profligacy, the theatre '? Who condemned games of chance, horfe- racing*, and other kinds of immoral behavior ? * To fome it may appear ftrange that games of chance, fuch as cards, dice, Sec. were ranked among the fins of ( «) Did not the reprefcntatives of the community ? Who, fince the reftoration of peace, have been the firft to throw off" every appearance of rcf- the land. The ufual pretext that they are harmlefs paf- times, is very flimfy and altogether inadmiffible. Inde- pendently on the odious coniequcnccs* with which they are generally conecLd, they are much more criminal than many are inclined to allow. It may fafely be affirmed that they are palpable violations of the third precept of the decalogue. What is a name? It is a dillinguiihing j:a.rk. What is die name of God ? li is any thing by which he makes hin:fc!f~ known. Now he makes himleli known as the God of Providence; and therefore to iport with his Providence, is equivalent to fportiug with his di- vinity. Bat with this all games of chance are chargeable. If the Piovidence of God extends to the fall of afparronv,. why not to the fhuffle of a card, or the caft of the dice ? But the former cannot happen without a divine appoint- ment (Mat. xn, 10.) therefore, the latter cannot. Wj are pofitively affined that " the whole difpofwg of the lot is from the Lord." (Prov. xvi, 33.) And all games of chance are lots. On fome occafions it may not only be lawful but a duty, to refer certain cafes, by religious lot, fco the decifion of God's tribunal. This is a mode of ac- knowledging his fupremacy which he has honored with his approbation, under the difpenfation botli of the old Teftament and the new; and which, under the former, he exprefsly commanded. The religious lot, then, it is. plain, is an aft of worfhip precifely of the fame kind with the religious oath. Both are folcmn and direel appeals to Omnifcience and Omnipotence. And games of chance bear, in every particular, the fame relation to the for- mer, which profane fwearing bears to the latter ; whence the conclufion, however uncomfortable, is inevitable, that if profane fwearing is criminal, fo are games of chance ; nay, that thefe games are every jot as wicked as common, cuftomary imprecation. It is foolifh to fay, " We mean H« evil." Every curfing reprobate pleads the fame excufe. ( *3 ) pea for the authority of the great God, and to treat his ordinances, and his word with contempt ? Have they not too often been thofe to whom "This mode of arguing," it maybe faid, " draws very deep, and involves in the guilt of fporting with Divine Providence, not only games of chance, but all amufements of fkill; and, eventually, all, even the moft innocent, ac- tions of our lives ; fince the iffue of them all rsuft be de- termined by the fuperintendance of Divine Providence ; and, therefore, that either this dreadful confequence muft be admitted, or the principle on which games of chance are condemned, given up ; and thefe games, of couri:, juftified." But the objection proves by far too much. N'> man will deny murder to be a horrible crime. Now, as it can be, and often has been, demonftratcd, that all fpon- taneous motion, to which belongs all mnfcular and vital motion, is the effect of the immediate agency of the Deity*, we muft either, according to the do&rineof the objection, allow murder to be an innocent action, or throw the blame of it upon God himfelf. The truth is that the objection confounds two things effentially different. In games of chance, the principle which makes them fuch, and without which they would ceafe to be fuch, is the ap- peal to God: The decifion is defgncdly put out of the reach of human forefight; and fhould a man ufe any precaution to determine the chance in his own favor, he would be ac- cufed of unfair play. This forms the character of the _games in queftion, and diftinguifhes them from trials of fkill, and all the common actions of life, the iifue of which depends upon the providence of God. In the former, an appeal to God conftitutes the nature of the game. In the Jatter, there are only fome cirumflances which his provi- dence difpofes : circumftances which necefTarily attend our actions, as the actions of dependent beings. As to horfe-racing, it is a fin alrooft too flagrant to re- quire any proof. God gave us his creatures to ufe for our good, not to torment for our diverfion. And if the fcrip- turcTays true, that " the righteous man regardeth the life of * Baxter's Matho. vol. i. p. 331—339. ( *4) the Hnoft important interefts of the country were! committed ? Have not men in office, and num* bers of our principal citizens, been foremoft to obferve, in the face of day, that very conduct, which formerly they decried as unlawful in its nature, and deftructive in its influence ? Is this carriage which becomes thofe who vowed to live for God, if he would fave them from their dif- trefs ? We may fee upon ourfelves the black mark of Ifrael's duplicity and treafon. " IVhen he flew them, then they fought him ; and they re- turned and inquired early after God: and they rt- membrred that God was their rock, and the moft high God their Redeemer: Neverthelefs, they did flatter him with their mouth, and lied unto him with their tongues ; for their heart was not right with him, neither were they fledfafl in his cove- nant*." " Be not deceived, God is not mocked] : Thefe things we wickedly have done, and he kept his ieafl," he who can habitually indulge himfelf, or coun- tenance others, in a wanton, cruel abufe of one of the moft generous animals that alleviate his toil, and promote his comfort, has a wretched claim to the character of a Chriftian. * Pf. lxxviii, 34—37. t Gal. vi, 7, ( 25 ) filence ; vee thought that he is altogether fuch an one as ourfelves, but now, by his providence, he is reproving us, and Jetting our iniquities in order before our eyes*. One who reflects upon the majefty of God, and the evil of fin, will fee, in fuch vile ingra- titude and hypocrify, abundant reafon to juftify him for pleading with us in wrath : and inftead of wondering that we are chaftifed, will wonder that the divine patience permits us to exift; when he furveys our unbecoming pride. Have we not, my brethren, in numberlefs inftances, acted as if we were the fources of our own happinefs, and the fovereigns of our own conduct ? As if we were neither fubject to the ju- rifdiction, nor amenable to the tribunal, of " the God in whom we live, and move, and have our being] ?" Has not America, in the fulnefs of her profperity, virtually faid, " Who is the Lord, that I fhould obey him% ?" Has fhe not faid, " My power, and the might of my hand, have gotten me * Pf. i, 21. ] Dan. v, 23. ] Ex. v, 2. D C 26 ) this wealth* r" Has fhe not faid, with imperious Babylon, " I fteall be a lady Jcrcver ; lam, and there is none elfe] ?" Is it any thing ftrange then, that " nffhicf which flee is unable to put 1pf, has fallen upon her$ ?" My brethren, God is jealous of his glory. He will not fuffer the creature to affect independence on the Creator. He will make us know that " Jehovah reigns, and, there- fore, the people muft tremble^." These abominations, too notorious to be de- nied, and too mocking to be palliated, are ren- dered ft ill more heinous by the obflinacy which has uniformly characterifed them. What means have been neglected to mew us our fin, to warn us of our danger, and bring us back to our duty ? Has not God fpoken to us both in judgment, and in mercy ? Has he not alternately inflicted his chaftifements, and lavifil- ed his bounties ? Has he not "many a time turn- ed his anger away, and refrained from ftirring up all his wrath** r" And have we not perfnted in * Deut. vni, 17. -)• If. xlvii, 7,8. % Ih.-v, 11. § Pf. xcix, 1. **Pf. lxvui, 38. / walking contrary to him? Have we not made our "neck an iron ft new, and our Irozv Irrfs* i" Sins abound, but where are the penitent ? Who " figh and cry for the abominations done in the land]:" Who appropriates to himfelf bis (hue of the general guilt? Where is the humbled heart, where the coitite fpirit, occafioned by fuch an appropriation ? Shall the abufe of God's amazing patience and lenity, and our unfruit- fulnefs under all the pains he has taken with us, go unpunifhed ? No certainly ! We may forget, but the Lord remembers : And if he fweep us not away with the befom of defruXicu, it is be- caufe he is the LORD hng-fjfring. But woe to him who argues, from the divine forbearance, that he fhall pafs with impunity. The longer Juftice fpares, the higher does flie lift her arm, and the heavier will be her ftroke at the lafK "He that, being often reproved, hardeneth his neck, fall fuddenly be deftrcyed, and that without remedy^." Such has been our behavior, and fuch beha- vior has drawn upon us the vengeance of Heaven.. * If. xlviii, 4. f E/.ck. ix, 4. X Prov. xxix, i. ( sS ) Here, then, our inquiries into the caufe of the Lord's difpleafure might end ; but we may pro- perly go a ftep farther, and obferve that he is juftly angry with us on account of the prevalence of various kinds of moral evil. Wthat refpect is paid to thofe fundamental principles of moral rectitude upon which is founded, not only the profperity, but the exif- tence, of a commonwealth ? Is not truth be- tween man and man, the bafis of mutual confi- dence, and the life of fociety, fhamefully viola- ted ? Are not unmeaning profeffions, and grofs adulation, too general in the circles of fafhion ? Is not t!ie breach of abfolute promife, particular- ly among debtors and tradefmen, become fo common, that it is fcarcely confidered as a fault ? Is not the bond of all civil union, the folemn appeal to Omnifcicnce by oath, fallen almoft into contempt, from the irreverent manner in which it is both adminiftered, and taken ? Is not the name of the great and terrible GOD, wantonly and outrdgeoufly blafphemed ? Are not even children, who, it is probable, were never taught to put up one prayer to the author of their be- ( *9 ) ing, expert in the infernal fcience of profane im- precation ? Do not our "ftreets refound Vvith this language of hell r" Is it not heard even from the lips of many who prefume to call themfelves by the name of Chrift ? Yes, my brethren, " Be- eaufe of SWEARING the land mourneth*." What regard is fhewn to the important du- ties which are reciprocally incumbent upon the different members of families ? Where are the watchful, circumfpect, confcientious, praying parents ? Where the humble, dutiful, pious chil- dren ? What is become of family devotion ? What, of family difcipline ? What, of the en- gagements into which parents, at the baptifm of their infants entered to obferve both ? Is not neg- lect, in thefe particulars, a fatal fource of youth- ful diffipationj- ? And what fhall we fay of that * If. XXIII, IO. f Families fupply both church and ftale: and if genuine religion, and ftrict morality, be waniisg there, fociety is poifoned at the fountain head. Through difref- pect to family religion, the young grow up profoundly igno- rant of their Creator, and unimpreffed with reverence for his law ; and furely we cannot expect that they who fear not God, will regard man. Family difcipline alfo, is of the utmoft moment. Parental vigilance and care form ufeful members of the community. "We have no right te ( 3o ) profligacy of principle and manners, which is every where obfervable. Who " rifes up befire the hoary head, and hours the face of the old man* r" On the contrary, are not the aged often treated with difrefpect; the maxims of wifdom ridiculed, and the counfels of experience def- pifed ? Are there not multitudes who fcarcely behave with common civility to the magiftrate whom God has commanded us to revere ( Are not intemperence, impurity, and debauchery hardy enough to face even the light ? Do we not hear repeatedly of the lawlefs ramble, and the midnight revel ? Are not thefe deeds of darknefs and obfcenity deemed, by. too many,, flatter ourfelvcs, that diforderly, difobcdicnt, uncontrolcd children, will become good citizens. To a criminal, a very criminal inattention in thefe two particulars, may be afcribed, in a great meafurc, that trifling character, and that vicious conduct, which mark the fopling and the rake, and of which the pious and the obferving fo generally, and fo juftly, complain. Vain are the wil'eft laws without : irtuous habits ', and thefe habits muft be formed in early life. Where the revcrfe obtains, the energy of laAv muft neceflarily be enfeebled, and the arm of Jultice unnerved. But although the fear of public ignominy, fould, in moft cafes (for fometimes it certainly does not) reflrain from the cemmiffion of enormous outrages; it will be but a flender proof of focial probity, that the terrors of penal UaUiUs are barely fufKcient to keep men frt.m the gallows. * Lev. xix, 32. ( 3i ) the marks of a generous fpirit ? And thofe who will not "run to the fame excefs of riot," vilified as contracted bigots or fuperftitious fools ? In what manner is the SABBATH obferved ? " Remember," is the divine injunction, remem- ber "the Sabbath-day to keep it holy." Is it, in- deed, kept holy ? Do men, indeed, ;- ) wherr- is the armrf !> e Lord revealed]- "'" Who "ftv as a dead, end as doves to their whuhws $ ?" Whop-lories in the crof; of Chrift ? Who takes refuse ii'om the cn\X of the law, in his cove- CD naiu n^hteoufnefs ? Who Und> the knee to a fat.fi i/ying Savior ? Whofe holy ambition fpurns the dregs of earth, and foars to the kingdom above ? Where arc thofe " crowns of gury, the hoary heads found in the way to nghteoufnefs** X' finitely great—and I firmly believe, that no man whoever became very vile and profligate, could pofttbly be fo, till he 1 enouik ed all folemn and lerious attention to the Lord's day. A qucftion has fome time employed my thoughts, what in human nature it is i hat will account in a rational manner, for the generally extreme wickednefs of foldiers and iaifi , ?----The true folution of the problem, I be- lieve is this. They do not carefully obferve tha Lord's day : they have no opportunity, or very little, of attend- ing the vvcrlhip of God : confequently the impreliions of a God ; of the worth of their fouls ; the evil of fin ; and the infinite importance of a future ftate, arc cither very- faint in their minds, <>*■ perhaps in fome, fcarcely cxiftcnt. la this reJp^ct, the inftitutions of Chriftianity liave a moll benign influence on fociety ; and wife rulers, who wifh ra- ther to prevent crimes than to punifh them, will take care, l?fr by precept and example, to promote the Justification of tie Chrifiian SabbiJ.I.—This is the bell fecuiity of our life, property, and liberty. This is like the wings of the Al- mighty ipread ova us. No man, who confeientioufly, and with knowledge, fanctifics the Sabbath, will find a liberty in his mind to injure us through the week.—This is God's iliadow extended over u: ; it is Heaven's pro- ttefion." (A concife and'faithful r.arratXc, &c. p. 68—70J f If. in 1, J. § vx, 8. ** Prov. xvi, 31. ( 3S > W here the hopefulyouth who dedicate th v nftlves to the Lord God of their fathers: and who arc not afhamed of Jefus and his words before a crooked'and perverfe general'en ? On the contrary, what is the frequent treat- ment of the bible ? This blefled bible which un- folds the counfels of Heaven, and proclaims the glad tidings of falvation ? Is it not defpifcd as the parent of enthufiafm, and calumniated as the offspring of fraud ? Are not the exercifes of that fcrious godlinefs which it infpires, which purifies the human mind ; and ennobles the human cha- racter, reviled as the whine of fanaricifm, or the cant of impofture ? Is not infidelity the fafden ? Is not the profeflion of a Chriftian thought to de- grade the dignity of a gentleman ? Is not the bold blafphemer of the holy oracles, admired, by many, as a man of genius? Is not the rude and impious jeer, at aJl which the wife and the good hold facred, applauded for wit ? Is not the paltry witticifm, if it be but levelled againft religion, complimented with the name of invincible argu- ment ? Does not every unfledged fciolift ; every ignorant retailer of the fophifms of a Hume, or ( $ ) the quibbles of ?. Voltaire, fetupfor aphilofo- f:\-v, and think himfeif entitled to laugh at the faith of the f-int ? Is not the pFogrefs pf princi- ples (o pernicious, an awful fymptom of deep de^e'rieiacy ? And is not the fact as notorious as it is diftreflipg ? " If it be net fo new, who will -make me a liar, and make my fpeech nothing worth* r' Wnr:; wc turn our eyes from thefe mifcrable mortals who carry the mark of Hell in their foreheads, and furvey the generality of profefTed believers, is there not reafon to fear that a large proportion of thern have only " a name to live, while they ere dead] ?" How many call them- felves Chrifians, while their whole deportment proves that they are, in truth, the enemies of Chrift ? No fubjedt fu tedious and irkfome as re- deeming love. Speak to them of the idtal fcenes pf a romance, and they are all attention and ac- tivity. But fpeak of "the fweet realities of the gofpel; of the height, the depth, the length, the breadth, of the love of Chrift, and immedi- ately they are languid and liftlefs. Set beforp * Job xxiv, 25. ] Rev. 111, 1. ( 37 ) them the fooleries of me ftage, and their bofoms will be agitated with alternate and violent emo- tions. Now they will be foftened into pity, or roufed into rage: Anon, they will melt in grief, or be tranfported with joy. But conduct them to Calvary : Shew them that real tragedy which clothed all heaven in fackcioth—Shew them a bleeding Savior—-Shew him ftretched on the ac- curfed tree ; bowing in agony his guiltlefs head ; and pouring out his foul unto death, a victim to divine wrath, a facrihee for fin ; and they will be cold and unfeeling as a ftone. Not a pang of remorfe will fhoot through the flinty heart, nor a tear of contrition fteal down the iron cheek. Do even the difciples of Jefus, who love him in fincerity, walk as he alio walked ? Do they live, as habitually as they ought, by faith, and not by fight ? Do they improve, as they are bound, the precious promifes ? iDo they apply to the fulnefs which is laid up for them in their new covenant head ? Arc congregations entirely free from thofe iniquities for which the Lord is vifiting our land ? Are there no minifterial tranf- greflions ? Yes, my brethren, the humiliating (38 ) truth muft be told, " The Lord is righteous, I and my people have finned f It is, therefore, undeniable that-the Lord is fpeaking to us in wrath, and that his controverfy is holy and juft. Let us, then, attend, SECONDLY, To the duty which our cir- cumftances and our text point out; and that is to plead with him for mercy.—0 Lord, in wrath remember mercy / Here it is rcquifite to elucidate fome of thofc principles which the petition implies; and at the temper with which we fhould employ it. i. With refpect to the principles of the petition. It plainly implies that there is mercy, par- doning mercy, which may, confiftently with both the divine attributes, and the divine govern- ment, be freely communicated to the finner. Dreary, my brethren, would be our prof- pect, and miferable our confolation, were it ab- ( 39) folutely neceffary for the God whom we have offended to reward us exactly according to our deferts : Then, indeed, might we clofc our eyes on peace, and lie down in forrow. " If thou, Lord, fhouldft mark iniquity; O Lord who eould Jland* ?" Certainly we could not ftand •, we, whofe conduct has been little elfe than a feries of tranfgreflions ; and whofe crimes have been at- tended with every hateful circumftance which can aggravate guilt, or encreafe punifhmcnt. Una- ble to anfwer our Judge " one of a thcufand" of the accufations he may bring agaiiTft us, if we attempt to " Juftify ourfelves, our own mouths will condemn us]" But, glory, eternal glorv, be to God in the higheft ! There is FORGIVE- NESS with him that he may be feared],. There is a Savior for whofe righteoufnejs fake the Father is well pleafed. Through this Savior we may fafely approach that inflexible juftice, and un- fpotted purity, which are otherwife a confuming fire. Our condition, therefore, though fad, is not hopelefs. We are guilty, indeed, but not wholly caftolT: We are afflicted, 'tis true, but not abandoned to defpair. How great, how un- * Pf. exxx, 3. f Job :t, 20. X Pf exxj, 4—7. ( 40 ) equalled focver our provocations have been, wc are encouraged to hope in the Lord, frr with the Lord there is mercy, and with him there is plenteous redemption*." But, it may be afked, "Is there any reafow for us to Hope when we are vifibly the objects of the divine difpleafure ?" May we repair to mer- cy's throne, when flighted mercy has kindled the, vengeful flame ?" We may, for our text farther implies, fh*it the prefent wrath of God, is no eb- ftruXXicn to the eucreife oj his mercy. This, the very prayer of Habakkuk, which was penned under the influence of the Holy One, manifeftly uh poles. This is fuppofed by all the prayers which, the fcripture informs us, were directed to Heaven fordeliverance from affliction. This is fuppofed by the defign of all God's wrathful difpenfations, which are intended not only to correct man, with rebukes, for his iniquity] ; but to humble the arrogance of Ids fpirit—to teach him his entire and univerfal dependence upon the One Supreme—to create in his mind * Pf. czxx, 4—7 ] Pf. xxxix, n. ( 4i ) religion.. i"c nubility—and bring tiie thanklefs pro- digal back to the God from whom he has deeply revolted*. I will go, fays Jehovah by his pro- phet, and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and Jeek my face: In their afflitlion they will Jeek me early]. This fame principle is fuppofed by his own pofitive injunction, record- ed in the prophecy of Joel: Therefore aljo now, Jaith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart ; and with Jafling, and with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your heart and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God ; for he is gracious and merciful, flow to anger, and of great mercy, and repenteth him of the evil. Who know eth if he will turn and repent, and leave a Hefting behind him]f " Peradventure I fhall live," is higher encouragement than the belt of us merits: Upon this peradventure muft a finful man make an experiment of the divine mercy for the falvation of his foul, and a finful land for her deliverance from trouble—It is enough for us to know, that God can be juft in pardoning the ungodly—It is enough for us to know that Jefus Chrift, the propitiation for fin, hath bro- * If. xxxi, 6. f Hof. v, 15. % Joel 11, 12—14- F ( 41) ken .town the barriers which hindered our acccfs to God, and the accefs of his mercy to us ; and hath opened, by the blood of Cavalry, a new and living way to the Father. From the invita- tion to this way of life, none, no not the moft worthlefs and vile, are excluded. Even thofe who are flaves of corruption, and prifoners of the curfe, are exhorted to lay hold of the great falvation. No fins can furpafs ihe merit of our Lord Jefus. The grace of God, that reigns by his crofs, is never fo gracious ; never fhines with fuch glorious fplendor, as when fhe holds back the armofjuftice; rufhes through the fire of wrath—fnatches the criminal as a brand out of the burning; and heaps countlefs ble(Tings on his head. This doctrine, fo rich -with inn.ruction and comfort, we fhould never forget. It is at all times important; at all times needful. Particu- larly in feafons of wrath, it is the precious doc* trine which brightens the gloom of guilt, and revives expiring hope. The prophet, by his own example, has taught us the truth, and how to employ it; for the text implies, ( 43 ) LASTLY, That when the Lord is deal;'-9 with us in wrath, met\y is our ONLl'-^ja. As finners we have no claim of right to any of God's benefits. Fallen, by apoftacy, from cur ftate of probation, we cannot acquire, by our own obedience, a title to the blefTrngs which were promifedin the covenant of works. It is, therefore, of infinite moment to our moft valuable interefts, not only to confefs with our mouths, but to feel in our hearts, that we lie at mercy. Above all, upon a day of faffing and humiliation, it illy accords with our circumftances and profefllon, to fofter the opinion, that God will forgiye our iniquities and receive us into favor, on account of our fincere, though imperfect fervices. Who is he, that prefutnes upon the fincerity and good- nef&of a heart which theipirit of infpiratipn has pronounced deceitful above ALL things, and def- perately wicked* ? Who is he, that would offer to his Creator, a. righteoufnefs which, has been rejected already as filthy rags]? Know, vain man, that every expectation which does not reft upon mercy, mere mercy, undeierved mercy* •Jer.xv:r, j. \ If. l^iy, 6 C 44 ) is more perilningthan the iketing cloud. Thou muft bow to fovereignty. " The loftinefs of man fhall be brought d:wn, and the haughtinefs of man fhall be made lew, and the Lord alone fhall be ex- alted*. Every durable comfort; every folid joy ; every hope that will abide the rude fhock of death, or the burning trial of the Judgment- day, is built upon this divine afluranee, not that with us there is merit, but that with the Let d there is mercy.' With thefe principles, that are evidently im- plied in the text, is intimately connected, i. The temper with which it becomes us to prefent the prayer of the prophet.— If we admit, (and who dares deny ?) that the Lord is fpeaking to us in wrath; and that our only refuge is his mercy; we cannot refnt the conviction, that an effential part of the temper which friould influence us in fuing for mercy, con- flits in an ingenuous confeffton of guilt. ' M' U, 17 ( 45 ) To frame excufes for our rebellion againft the majefty in the heavens, or to foften down, by partial tendernefs, our heinous violations of the Divine law, difcovers an ignorant mind, and an unhumbled heart: It is, in effect, to fay, the ways of the Lord are not equal*. We may, in- deed, imagine ourfelves hardly treated : But if we compare the belt of our fancied claims to the indulgence of God, with the tremendous char- ges he may juftly bring againft us, the lips of murmur will be filenced ; the rifing difcontent fupprefJed ; and, overwhelmed with deep confu- fion, we will be conftrained to acknowledge the rectitude of Jehovah's appointments. The Judge of all the earth], who invariably does right, muft be juftified when he fpeaketh, and be clear when he judgeth\. Before his equal bar eve-y mouth fhall be flopped, and all the world become guilty \. Woe, then, to him thai fr re eth with his maker\. The wifefr, the fafeit, the moft honorable conduct, in diis hour of peril, is to humble ourfelves under the mighty hand of God'f, and to plead guilty to the heavy accyfa- * Ezck. xvm, 25. f Gen. xvm, 2c. ] P£ li> i. § Rom. m, 19. Jj If. xlv, 9. «t Pet. v, 6. ( 46 ) tions which are written, in large and luminous character, an hir. providential dealings. He virtually addrcffes us in this piercing language, Have J not murifljed and brought ycu up as children, and have ye not rebelled againft me* ? If we aft honeftly, we muft reply, Truth Lord ! Did I not make known unto you my holy Sabbath, and com- nnnud ycu precepts, ftatutes, and laws, and give you my good fpirit to inftrufl you ,r and have ye not been difobedient, and c aft my law behind your backs, and wrought great provocations ? Truth Lord ! L'id I not deliver ycu, for your fins, into the hand cf your enemies who vexed ycu : and in the time of your trouble, when you cried unto me, did I not bear ycu from heaven, and, according to my manifold mercies, give you Saviors, who faved you out of the hand of your enemies ; and after you had reft, did you not do evil again before me ? Truth Lord ! Thou art juft in all that is brought upon us ; for ikou haft done right, but we have done wickedly : Neither have our rulers, our magiftrates, our 3':iefts, nor our citizens, kept thy law, nor heark- ened unto thy commandments -, Jor they have not faved thee in the large and fat land which tbqpi * If. I, 2. ( 47 ) gavefl them ; neither turned they from their wicked works *. But let us not fuppofe, my brethren, that we fulfil our duty by a general confeffion of guilt. We plead not for mercy with a proper temper, unlefs we individually bring home the charge of guilt to our own confciences. Our national fins arc enormous ; their oy afcends up to the very- heavens : and we all have had our ihare in them. Let us every one turn his eyes in upon his own heart, and, willing to know the vvorft of his cha- racter, afk, with folemn impartiality, " What have I done ] ?" There is no citizen prefent, who will not find, upon fair enquiry, that he has abundant reafon to fay, not only as a man, bu* as an American, God be merciful to ME a finner ]. The public iniquity, is, in fact, an accumula- tion of private tranfgreffions. They are the drops of individual contrition, which conftitute the flood of national repentance ; and if we ex- pect ever to fee a general reformation, we muft pray every one for himfelf, 0 lord, in wrath re- member mercy. * Neh. throughout. f Jer. vin, 6. X Luke irm, 13 (*$) These reflections leads us directly to obferve, that a part, a chief part, of the temper which fhould predominate in cur applications to the mercv feat, is a fervent defire, that the Lord would remove from us firft of all, the filt for which he is now puriifhing v.". If our humiliation, this day, proceeds from a dread of evil, rather than from a cordial hatred of the fin which is the parent of. all evil, we mock God; we wound our own fouls; we pre- pare for ourfelves a more terrible condemnation^ The God of holinefs will never deem himfelf honored by the feigned devotion of thofe who roll fin as a fweet morfel under their ttr.gv.c; . Who grieve, not becaufe he is offended and in- fulted, but becaufe they are chaftifed—Who are deterred from the indulgence of their lufts, only by the fear of vengeance ; and who will probably return, when their alarm fubfides, to thofe un- hallowed practices which they now affect to re- nounce. Unpardoned fin is a perennial fource of forrow: and it is but a fmall confolation to be freed from an exifting plague, while an angrv cloud, chv-ged with ten thoufand woes, hovers ( 49 ) over us, and threatens every moment to burft in curfes on our heads. Acquaint thyfclf NOW with him and be at peace* ; hafte, for pardon, to the blood of fprinkling, and leave it to the wif- dom and fovereignty of God, to remove, in his own good time, the rod of affliction. Fistally; In pleading for mercy, we fhould be anxious that the Lord would fantlify his pro- vidence : that is, would blefs it as an effectual mean of rendering our hearts more tender, and Our lives more holy. Chastisements unimproved, fwell, in pro- portion to their feverity, the guilt of an indivi- dual or a people j and are a prelude to calamities doublv dreadful. If men will not learn rizhte- oufnefs when God's judgments are abroad in the earth—If they will not behold the majefly of the Lord]', and when his hand is lifted up, obfti- nately refufe to fee it; he may fay, in righteous indignation, Im them alone: LET THEM FILL UP THE MEASURE OF THEIR INIQUITIES : And what the confequence may * job XXII, 21. G \ If. xxvi, ie\ ( 5o ) be, none can tell, but he who knows perfectly the evil of fin, and the limits of his own for- bearance. Should we revert to our former floth and impiety, after this folemn warning from the God of Heaven, our condition will be worfe, much worfe, than before. He may, indeed, permit us to enjoy tranquility for a while ; but, in the mean time, he is ftoring a magazine of fury. If his unexanlpled goodnefs do not lead us to repentance, we will treafure up to ourfelves wrath againft the day of wrath, and revelation of the righteous Judgment of God*. For ought we can tell, the period may be near, when feven thunders fhall utter our doom ; and {even vials pour out upon us their united plagues. In the day of our diftrefs, God may ftand afar off": II hen wejpread Jorth our hands, he may hide his eyes from us ; yea, when we make many prayers, he may not hear]. He may ftrike into our fouls the chill of death, by addrelSng us in this ftile of affronted patience, Becaife I called and ye re- fifed, I fir etched out my hand and no man regarded: but ye have Jet at nought all my counfel, and would none of my reproof; I alfo will laugh at your cala- * Rom. n, 4, 5. ] If. 1, 15. ( 5' ) mily ; I will mock when your fear comelh : When your fear comet h as deflation, end your defirii.elion Cometh as a whirlwind; when d:j:refs and u,.^..h ecue upon ycu*. The facts and the doctrines on which we have been meditating, fuggeft, very plainly, the im- provement we ought to make of them. If wrath is upon us from the Lord, every man of reflection will feel that it becomes us to be very ferious. My brethren, God does not trifle with us, and he will not permit us to trifle with him. His govern- ment is not a phantom, nor his judgments a farce. Both are awful realities: Sooner or later fhall every accountable creature know, that the former cannot be rejected, nor the latter defpifed, with impunity. The divine law is a ferious thing : fin, which is a tranfgreflionof the law, is alfo a ferious thing: and that death which is the wages of fin, is as ferious a thing as either: And now, that we have violated the law ; have made ourfelves finners ; are obnoxious to the penalty of the law, and ^Prov. i, 24—z"[. ( 5* ) have before our eyes a fignal proof of the Lord's anger againft the very fins with which we are chargeable; furely, furely we ought to be ferious. To be carelefs and indifferent when the cry of anguifh pierces our cars, is cruelty : To frolic on the brink of ruin, is madnefs. The fpirit of God has marked it as one of the laft ftages of human obduracy, when men have the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and the pipe, and wine, in their feafts -, but regard not the doing oj the Lord, neither conftder the operatiqn of his h-nds*. God forbid that we fhould imitate the folly defcribed by the prophet; " And in that day," a day of wrath, " did the Lord God of hofts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldnefs, and to girding with fackcloth : and behold joy and gladnefs, flaying oxen, and killing Jheep, eating f.efij and drinking wine ■" a conduct which pro- claimed more loudly than any words, the maxim of the libertine, Let us eat and drink, Jor to- morrow we fhall die. May the woe denounced againft fuch offenders, penetrate our inmoft fouls: Surely this iniquity Jhall not be purged Jrom you, TILL YE DIE, faith the Lord God of hofts]. * If. V, 12. f If. XXII, 12 —14. ( S3 ) BuTlet nonemiftake the intention of thefe re- marks, or pervert their ufe. If we are called from unfeafonable inattention and levity, we are not cal- led to the fullennefs, the gloom, the inaction, of defpondence. We muft be ferious, but not idle. And one of the moft profitable purpofes for which v/e can improve the fubject we have been confider- ing, is, a ftrifl examination of our own char after s. My brethren, the difpenfations o{ divine pro- vidence, proclaim, as with the voice of an Arch- Angel's trump, Prepare to meet thy God, O Ifrael*. Are we prepared to meet him in con- fidence, and with comfort ? Paufe, ye votaries of pleafure—Interrupt, ye gay, the round of vanity—Sufpend, ye men of bufinefs, the anx- ieties of gain ; and retreat, for a while, into your own bofoms: Summon your confciences before that tribunal, the decifions of which are all according to truth; and afk, afk folemnly, for ye know not how foon it may be afked at the bar of God, What arrangements have ye made for an eternal world ? Amidft all your acquire- ments, have ye obtained the one thing needful f ? * Amos iv, 12. f Luke x, 43. ( 54 ) Amidft all your purfuits, have ye fought firft the kingdom oj God and his righteoujnefs* ? Are ye in Chrift Jefus] ? Are yejuftified by his blood, and fanctified by his fpirit ? Have ye devolved the whole weight of your acceptance with the Father, of your perfeverance in holinefs, and your arrival at glory, on him who is able to fave to the utter^ moft, all that come unto God by him \ ? To thefe interrogations very different anfwers muft be given by two clafTes of hearers. To each of them our fubject furnifhes a fuitable exhortation. To thofe, who have a good hope through grace, it addrefTes the corrimand of the apoftle Peter, Give all diligence to make your call- ing, and your eleflion fure%. In feafons of wrath it is peculiarly needful for believers to have their faith ftrengthened •, their title to their inheritance fully afcertained, and their way to the pofTeflion of it freed from all obftruction: Trim, then, your lamps, ye wife virgins. Gird on your ar- mor, ye foldiers of the living God: Be fober: Be vigilant**. Watch and pray, that ye enter * Matt, vi, 33. f 1 Cor. 1, 30. X Heb- V", 2r §2 Pet. 1, 10. ■♦* 2 Pet. v, ,8. ( 55) not into temptation*. Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning ; and ye yourfelves like unto men that wait for their Lord—Bleffed are thofe fervanls, whom the Lord when he cometh Jhallfind watching]. And when ye fupplicate for yourfelves, intercede for your fellow-citizens, with whom you profefs to fympathizc. The ef- fectual fervent prayer of a righteous man cvaileth much %. Say, Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach §. Say, O remember not againft us former iniquities : Let thy tender mer- cies fpeedily prevent us, for we are brought very low. Help us O God, of our falvation, for the glcry of thy name: and deliver us and purge away our fins, for thy name's fake. Let the fighing cf the prifoner come up before thee ; according to the greatnefs of thy power, preferve thou thefe that fcem apointedto die\. Intercede for your coun- try : Say, Turn us again, 0 Lord God of Hofts ■, caufe thy face to fhine, and we fhall befaved^. Say, Forgive our fin, and heal our land**. Let thy work appear unto thy fervants, and thy glory unto * Matt, xxvi, 41. f Luke xu, 35—37- X James v, 16. § Joel 11, 17. I Pf- lxxix, 8— n <] Pf. uxxx, 19. * ' 2 Chr. vn, 14. ( 5° ) their children : and let the beauty of the Lord cur- God be upon us: andeftablifJj thou the work of cur hands; yea the zv.orl: cfour hands eftablifh thou it* Intercede for the church of Chrift : Say* Do good; in thy good pleafure, unto Zion: Build thou the walls of Jerufalcm ]. O Lord, revive thy work in the midfl of the years ■, in the midft of the years make known: In wrath remember mercy. To thofe who are aliens from the commonwealth of Ifrael, and fir angers to the covenant ofpromife £, the difpenfations of providence fpeak in a moft alarming ftile, and the doctrine of the text offers falutary counfel. Wherewithal7,, my brethren. will YE come before the Lord, and bow yourfelves before the moft high God? Unprovided with that robe of ri^hteoufnefs, and thofe garments of fall'a- tXn%, without which none can enter the palace of the King \, what will ye do in the day of vifitation ? Are ye able to contend with your Maker ? Are ye able to abide the fiercenefS of his anger? Q Put not from you the evil day. Mul- titudes, of your neighboring city, who were as *Pf.xc, 16, 17. f Pf. li, 18. tEph.u, 12. Mic. VI, 6. § If. LXI, 10. || Pf. xtv, 15. ( 57 ) iarclefs and fecure as yourfelves, have been hur- ried away, with fcarce a warning, to the bar of God. What aiTurancc have yethat this fhall not, very fhortly, be your own cafe ? Death is now doing his work among our fellow-citizens; and before we are aware he may come up into our win- dows*. Perhaps—God grant that the fear be not realized ! Peihaps the deftroyer has already received his commiffion to clear thefe feats of their ufelefs pofieflcrs j to cut down the cumber- ers of the Lord's vineyard ; and to caft them into the fire. My brethren, as your fouls live, there is but a ftep between you and death : Cri- tical is your condition; and precious your time. Hafte, then, flee for your lives; flee from the wrath to come! " But. whither fhall we flee ?" Whither ? To the mercy feat! To the blood of fprinkling which fpeaketh better things than the blood of Abel. To Jefus the mediator of the new covenant ]. Him hath God exalted to be a prince and a Savior to give repentance unto ifrael and remijfion $f fins].. This, this is the only channel'through which the mercy of God can flow to the finner: For there is no other name given under heaven among * Jcr. ix, 21. ] Heb. xii, 24. ] A#. r, 3*- H ( 5§ ) men, whereby wrcan be faved*. The only al ternative is, to receive the Savior, or perifh. Re- % ceive him without delay. AW is the accepted time ■, now is the day t>J Jalvaticn. To DAY ij re will hear his voice, harden not your hearts ]. Fie has faid that Them who come to him he will in no wije cafi cut %. Having fuch high encourage- ment fatten your hope on his atoning blood ; throw yourfelves unrefervedly upon his precious merits; and plead, 0 LORD, in wrath remem- ber mercy. Amen. * Ad. it, 12. ]z Cor. vi, 2 ; Pf. xcv, 7. ] J°hn vi, 37. the end. APPENDIX. X HE Author h?s learnt, that fome perform, whofe partiality ;> C ir--.:t-l51 i:-;iMi will not permit their, to en- ter into the views and feelings which ought to predo- minate in the breaft ot every American citiz-r., have taken umbrage at fome fentences in page 9, which al- lude to the devastation committed by the Britifh army. To make truth and duty the bafis of his public difcour- fes, is a maxim to which he would preferve the moft rigid adherence : And if any are offended at him for freely declaring the one, or fulfilling ther'other, it can- not b: helped. It never has been, and he hopes never fhall be, his practice, to model his difcourfes upon a previous calculation whom they may pleafe, or whom difpleafe. He has, however, reviewed, with cool de- liberation, the obnoxious paffages : and cannot find, after the ftricteft examination, one affertion falfe, or uncharitable, or unfeafonable ) and therefore is not at- liberty to make the leaf! alteration. Eut while the con- kiouinefs that he has faid no more than can be well de* fended, or was exacted by fidelity to his truit, forbids him to apologife ; yet refpeet for fome whofe judg- ment he reveres, and whofe iriendfliip he values, in- duces him to explain. Such he affurcs, that nothing was farther from his mind, than an intention to wound the feelings of any perfon whatever-----that he throws no national reflection ; fenfible that fuch reflections are at all times unjuft and illiberal ; and that among the difintcrefted, the judicious, and the unprejudiced, thofe who were well informed, were, even in Britain, the friends of America-----that what he fays even of the annv, is meant of the army in genera'. There were, he is happy to acknowledge, fome noble excep- tions ;—and that he docs not enter into the merits of a political controverfy, but limply frates matters of noto- rious faft. He muft detain the reader a little longer, while he vindicates the exprefhons themfelves, r.s well as the fpiiit which they breathe : and if he advance ( 6o ) any thin-^ which looks like political difcuffion, it is not his fault; he is compelled to do it. The army deftjned to fubdue America, he ftiled, and rightly ftiled, a tool of oppreTnn. Such, (landing armies have always been, and, in the' nature of things, always muft be*. It is nothing but the tamemfs of flavery, or the fottilhnefs of prejudice, which can infpire a thinking being with a different fen- timent. Their whole hiftory, from their firft inftitu- tion till this hour, is little elfe than the hiftory of de- ftrudtive machines in the hands of intrigue and cruelty. And whether the Handing army of Britain is now gui- ded by better principles, or employed fo better purno- fes, let the occurrences of every day attcft. That army, with refpeel: to America, was " hired to commit deeds of blood, in order to infure fuccefs to fchemes of iniquity." Did they not fight for their pay, and becaufe they were ordered to fight ? Were they not fent for the cxprefs purpofe of cannonading, and bayonetting, and burning the Americans into unctnditional Jubmiffion t» arbitrary meafures ? And was not that fcheme itfelf, independently on any other, fufBciently iniquitous ? Was it not iniquitous, to trample under foot every principle of natural right, in refufing the Americans a voice when their own property was to be given away ? And to tear from their hands the rewards of honeft induftry, with the imperioufnefs of mafters, and the rapacity of robbers ? If this was not iniquity, it will be hard to find a crime. Were not multitudes of our citizens, whofe only fault was the love of their country, the love of juftice, " driven from their homes?" Were they not dripped of their all, and reduced from eafe and affluence to extreme penury ? And werenot thofe by whom they were thrown deftitut- upon the world, and who feized their poflefli- ons, "fins of plunder ?" In the name of common, fenfe, what were they ? * -.tt " an argunn nt againft a ftanding army," in Moyle's traftfe particularly j>. 236—242. ( Cz ) WerR not "the temples of the !ivlr>~ GX rrvced, and wrapped in fiwrs >" Every one know; that the' Britilh troops betrayed, on almoft all occafions, the moft implacable virulence againft places dedicated to divine worfhip, and againft thofe fcrvants of X." moft high God, who there ihewed their flocks the way of fal- vation. " In the courfe of the war, they utterlv deftroy- ed more than FIFPY places of public wcrfhip, in thefe States. Moft of them they burnt: others they levehcd with the ground, and in lorn^ places left not a veftige of their former fituation; while they have wantonly defaced, or rather deftroyed others, by co :- vcrti-.g them into barracks, j Xf hofpitals, ridin»- fchools, &c. Bolton, Newport, Philadelphia, and Charlefton, all furnilbed melancholy inftances of Xf. proftitution, and abuk. of the houfes of, Cod. And of the nine:cen phces of public worfhip in thr, city, -I'hcn the war began, there were but nine fit for ufe, when the Britilh L.-orp-, left it*. And were p-'t the men who cou:d be eu.lty of fuch conduct., " wretches :"" Who can tell whether more " fenfelefV' or " impious :" Of what kind were the trankOions of tks fame army when they travcrfed tne Jerfeyr, ? " r>k- ny thoufands of the inhabitants rca'vcil printed protections, figied by order of tor o^nr-.^t'dcr 'n chief. But neither the proclamations of the cornmiji- oners, nor protections, faved the people from plunder, any more than from infult. Their property was taken or deftroyed without difdnction of pence.,;" and thii with their protections in tlieir hands : The geoelv example was fet by officers and general offutrs. "The foldiery, both Britiih and foreigner:., were fhamefully permitted, with unrelentlnv; hand, to pillage fri-.vd and foe, in the Jerfeys. Neither age nor fex was fpared. Infants, old men and women, were left in their fhirts, without a blanket to cover them, under the inclemency of winter. Every kind of furniture was deftroyed and * See the note tip. :6 of the judicious thankfg'ving termor* preached by (he Rev. Dr. Rofigers, en tbe ntb 01 Dec. 1783. ( 62 1 burnt: windows and dbofs were broken to pieces : in ihort, the houfes were left uninhabitable, aiul the peo- ple without provifion, for every horfe, cow, ox and fowl, was carried off V Was not the fhamelefs vio- lation of faith publicly plighted, "perfidy?" Were not villainies like thefe, " violence .•"" And the men who could perpetrate them, in the fulleft fenfe of the wo/d, " banditti f" It is plain, then, that the author, w/ile he has fpoken truth, has not fpoken half the truth, M my other teats of a fimilar "kind he might have mentioned ; he might have adverted to the butchery of prifoners in cold blood : he might have touched on the hiftory of furaivhor.ks and prifon-fliips, ecc. but he delights not to dwell on thefe feencs of horror : and therefore, as he could not, con- fiftently with his duty, omit noticing the mifcries of the war, he expreffed himfelf in 'general terms. It ia to no purpofe to fay, as it may be faid, that this ia a fubject on which the belt of men have differed, and will ever differ. Chanted ; but let it be remembered, that thofe good men who were on different fides of the (j-tfion, were alfo on different fides of the Atlantic Among the pious and the devout in this country, there was, generally fpcaking, but one fentiment. The opinions of the beft of men, who were 3000 mrles from the fcene of action, and whofe confidence in their government was abufed by a perpetual flander on the principles and conduct of the Americans, can be <->[ no weight at all. Befides, the point before us, is not a matter of opinion, butof /«r7; and the opinion of no man could either replace tire property, or reftorc the lives, of our citizens. With refpect to the fpirit which the exprefhor,^ under com.,: -e ion breathe, it is proper to remark, that thr-v were deh eed not to prov. he bitternefs, or to en- kindle refenunent; but to ..waken recollection. They » Oa'H-Vs Ameiican War, vol. 2, p. 179. Ramfay's do. vel. 1, ( &l ) tan be fully Supported by fcripture tn'.■.v//-/<-, and fcip- ture precept, and fcripture tx.-.mp'.i. The fcripture principle o\n which they are advocated, is the wile im- provement of God's judgments and mercies. But how can t!«ey he improved, if we bury them in oh!ivio:i : How can we duly appreciate a mercy, if we do \w\ p e- ferve a lively fenfe of the evil from which that mer v delivered us ? It is impoflible. The miferics, the.. fore, which we fullered during the war muft be reiue: bcred, and mentioned, and difcourfed of; and the American who forgets or overlooks them, is a traitor f> the God who faved his country. For this reafon the lawlefs behavior of the Britifh army, was purpofiely de- scribed in forcible language. Since the more horrible were their outrages, the heavier was the judgment upon this land •, the more fignal her deliverance, and, of courfe, the more criminal her fubfequent ingratitude. Scripture prectpts, by which the author is war- ranted to fpe'ak as he has fpoken, may be found in Deut. vi, 12—20—23 •, Ex. y.,2; Deut. xxx 1, 26; &c. and fcripture example—throughout the bible-----And why any Britons, above all others, fhould be offended, is truly myfterious. No people on earth record more carefully, or repeat more frequently and feelingly, their twn fufferings, than they. Do, reader, take the trou- ble to look into fome of the revolution and faft-da.y fer- mons, which have been preacliedin Britain ; &you will fee the tyranny, the cruelty, and the multiplied horrors, of Popery, painted in colors blackenough. Hervey him- felf, in whom were united all thofe gracious tempers, and all thofe gentle virtues which adorn, and dignify, the human character ; even the mild, the meek Jam-.-s Hervey, fpeaks very ftrongly on this fubjectf. Glance over the fpeeches of fome Honorables, and Right Hj- norables in the Britifh Parliament, and fome of the faft- day fermons occafioned by " the rebellion in America? and you may find not a few hard fpeeches uttered with- f See Hervey's faft-day fermon, entitled, " tbe way rf btl'wtft." Works, vol. r, p. 72, o&avo. (Q) out anv juft provocation at all All '' :•■ is good; thi.< is patriotic, this is glorious. But if an American ven- tures to mention what his country endured from the oppreihons of a venal court, :md the depredations of an unprincipled foldiery; This is mean, this is bigottcd, this is intolerable ! Kind reader, if your property be pillaged, and your life deftroyed, what is the difference, whether the mikiiict be deneby a popifh ihquifitor, or a Eiitifli foldier ? The author fctds perfuaded, that what has now been faid will ku,; "y the c.tndid', for no candid pcr- fon will attempt to deny facts which are familiar to eve- ry child j or undert.drc the defence of what is wholly indefenfible. It is really ftrange that any, be their at- tachments to Britain c\er fo great, fhould fo far make themfelves a party in the vile proceedings of her agents, as to be offended when thefe proceedings are mentioned.' If, however, they ,rtf, be angry, let their rcfentment fall where rcfentment is due.' Let them be vexed that the armies of a nation which boafts her humanity and generofity, fhould ftain, by a more than favage barbari- ty, the pretenfions hi which flie glories ; but let them not unjuftly quarrel with Americans, for expofing, in the blaze of day, the wkkednefs which feeks fhelter in the'dark thickets of oh.i\ion. The author only re- marks farther, that there was a-period, when America thought hec fufferings of fufHcient moment to confe- crate a day. for the ex pre fs purpofe of publicly thanking the God of heaven for her falvation ; and, when fome perfons were happy in the fafety they enjoyed.' But, tempora mutantur: It is now become a crime for an American fo much as to hint at the misfortunes of his country, under Britifh ufurpation, and at the good- nefs of Gcd m delivering her—a crime in the eyes of men who, during the time of her calamity, were he: implacable foes •, who were aftci wards protected by her clemency; and who have fince grovw: luxurious and wanton upcr. the fat of the land. M39fs /793